


How not to have a date

by L_C



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M, Missing Scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-17
Updated: 2010-05-17
Packaged: 2017-10-09 12:59:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/87744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_C/pseuds/L_C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The events of the week leading up to the 'non-date'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How not to have a date

**Author's Note:**

> This was my very first foray into fanfic. I was intrigued by Vala's comment at the beginning of Momento Mori that she'd been 'looking forward to this date all week'. I wondered how that week went because I couldn't see that Daniel could've ever persuaded her to not tell the others...so this is what I came up with.   
> I didn't have a great handle on Daniel yet so he's a little too flirty to be IC, but the end result is still fun.

**MONDAY **

“Arrgghh…I am so bored with this food!” Vala threw down her fork in disgust,  “Couldn’t we go out to dinner?”

Daniel looked up from the computer printout he was reading, “Uh sure, maybe when we get back on Friday from P3D 789 we could go to….” he didn’t get a chance to finish his statement.

“Oooooo,” she squealed, leaping up to throw her arms around his neck and plant a kiss on his cheek, “thank you darling!”

He patted her arm where it curved around his neck.

“You’re welcome. Now, please sit down Vala, we’re attracting attention.” he cast a meaningful glance around the commissary at the various military personnel who were openly smirking at them.

She whispered ‘sorry’ and slipped back into her chair. After a few moments of poking at the meal in front of her again, she put down the fork with a sigh and stared at him.

He cast a glance up at her. ‘What?”

“Couldn’t we go tonight…now?

“No, I need to get this survey report done tonight so SG-7 will have it when they do recon on P3D 789   tomorrow.” he turned his attention back to the printout.

“But Daniel…” she started.

He shot a warning glance up at her. “Vala.  Take it or leave it.”

She sighed again. “Oh very well, I’ll just go get some choco-ate cake.

‘That’s ‘chocolate’…and thank you for being reasonable.”

She gave him a smile and went to join the line of people at the display case of desserts.

He looked up a few moments later when she arrived back at the table with a large piece of cake and a spoon.

When she finally settled herself he returned to his task and for a few moments thought he was concentrating on the sheets in front of him, until he realized that his peripheral vision off the top of his glasses was keeping him focused on her method of eating cake.  He watched mesmerized as she took a spoonful, skillfully ate just the cake, leaving the thick chocolate icing until the very last, then would turn the bowl of the spoon upside down in her mouth and suck all the icing off. He shifted in his seat to ease the usual tightening at the base of his spine. Staring at her over the rim of his glasses, he wondered if she did this stuff specifically to drive him crazy or was it just that around her, his thoughts wandered in a certain direction too easily.

She looked over at him suddenly and with a suggestive grin held the utensil, full of cake, out to him, “Want some?”

He clenched his teeth at the purr in her voice. “NO!” instantly he realized he had said that louder and harsher than he meant to. He tried again.

”No, thank you.”

She shrugged and for few minutes there was silence while she finished the rest of the cake..

“So Daniel….” she started.

“What now?” he sighed, sitting back in his chair.

She shot him a hurt look. “I was just wondering where we could go on Friday.”

“Um…” he paused to give his shoulders a muscle loosening roll which felt so good that he took it into a full body stretch, causing his t-shirt to pull away from the waistband of his pants and his entire torso to flex and tighten. When he relaxed back onto his chair he caught Vala slowly drawing the spoon upside down of her mouth as her gaze took a sensuous drift over him.  He straightened hastily only to find his eyes locking with hers for a moment. The invitation in her blue-gray eyes brought back again the all too familiar and all too frequent response in his groin. He closed his eyes, willing it away. When he opened them again  she was idly playing with the cake crumbs on her plate.  She smiled at him when she felt his eyes on her.

“So?”

“So what?” he frowned, trying to remember the topic of conversation.

“Dinner on Friday?”

“Oh right…well since we’re on stand down for the weekend I thought we could all have dinner at O’Malley’s.”

She flashed a wide grin, “Oh that’s a perfect! And I’m going to order one of those things I shared with Teal’c last time…that thing with the delicious white dipping sauce…oh what’s it called?” she paused thinking, “it’s looks like a flower.” she finished with a gesture that described the shape.

Daniel considered for a moment what she could be referring to. Then when it dawned on him, he smiled, a slow, genuine smile that lit his eyes. It reminded Vala why she was still hanging around this boring military base on this backwater planet.

“You mean The Onion Blossom?”

“That’s it! The Onion Blossom. And I’m not going to share it with anyone.

“Not even me?” he teased gently.

She smirked at him in response. “Of course darling, I’ll share anything of mine that you want. Except the Onion Blossom”

He laughed and shook his head, returning to marking the printout with a highlighter. Shortly he felt her rise from the table, and drape an arm around his shoulder.

“See you later sweetheart. I have to finish the cataloguing I was doing for Sam.”

She left a soft kiss on his cheek and her scent to haunt him for the rest of the evening.

 

 **TUESDAY**

A good night’s sleep without Vala disturbing him had Daniel in an excellent mood. Not that he actually minded the late night conversations with her, surprisingly she was less likely to proposition him then and more likely to be authentically herself, but the prospect of sleeping on the hard ground of P3D 789 overnight on Thursday had him wanting to be as well rested as possible.

He was engrossed in verifying on the map of P3D 789 the locations that SG-7 needed to concentrate on when he sensed Vala standing in the doorway. He glanced up to see her not looking her usual cheery self.

“Hi… ”,he managed to stop his mouth from forming the endearment that so far only allowed to exist in his head, “...Vala, why so glum.”

She plunked herself on the stool across the worktable from him and sighed.

“Oh I just asked the others about Friday and everyone has other things happening. Teal’c is going to some tribunal, Sam’s going to Washington…”

Daniel flashed a small smile, “Washington huh?”

“Yeah, but she didn’t say why.”

“I would imagine it’s got something to do with Jack.”

“Oh.”

“And Cam?”

“He said he had a hot date.”

Daniel laughed, “Yeah I bet he does.”

“So I guess that means if no one else can then you’re not as likely to either.”

“No, I’m fine with it being just you and I. I said we would go out and I meant it. We are expected to get off the mountain for a while this weekend.”

She slid off the stool and came around the desk to hug him. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

On her way out the door she stopped and turned back to him

“Daniel, does ‘hot’ date mean what I think it does? That Cameron is expecting to …um…what’s the expression I’ve heard around here…’get lucky’?

He chuckled, “Yes that’s exactly what Cam is expecting.”

“Ah.” She paused for couple beats and then with a come-hither smile she said, “Maybe we could have a hot date sometime.”

Then she was gone, leaving Daniel to not have to the hide the small smile of affection that settled over his mouth as he returned to the maps. 

Lunchtime found Daniel in the commissary making last minute adjustments to his notes before SG-7’s briefing. He was only half aware of the arrival of his other teammates until Cameron Mitchell’s southern drawl completely interrupted his stream of thought.

“So Jackson, are you still taking Vala to O’Malley’s on Friday?”

“Um…no.” he answered absently without taking his eyes off the page he was reading.

He did look up though at the rude sound of disgust from Cameron.

“What?” he looked around at his companions.

“That’s kinda low isn’t? Cancelling on her just because we won’t be there to run interference for you.” Cameron frowned at him.

“She’s been working really hard around here to fit in and be less of a distraction to you. I think she deserves a dinner out.” Sam also frowned at him.

He blinked a few times in surprise. “Whoa guys, I agree, she has been making a real effort to become part of the team and yeah she has earned a night outta here. I didn’t mean that I was changing my mind about going out, I meant that, no we aren’t going to O’Malley’s.” 

He went back to making changes to his notes without making any further comments.

“Uh, where are you going then?” Sam asked, interrupting him again.

“Oh, I made reservations at that Italian place, ‘Il Fiore Bianco’”.

Cam’s low-level whistle of astonishment made Daniel look around at the other three.

“And I thought I had a hot date planned.” Cam muttered.

Daniel glared at him. “This is not a date. I just decided that O’Malley’s was fine for us as a group but on a Friday night it’s too noisy for two people to carry on a conversation without yelling at each other…and I think there’s been enough raised voices between the two of us. So I’d heard the food was good at ‘Il Fiore’ and it’s quiet.”

“And romantic.” Cam added.

Daniel shot him another glare.

“Are you sure you’re ready to send that message?” Sam asked.

 Daniel looked at her perplexed “Ready? Message? Sam, what the hell does that mean?”

She laid a gentle hand on his arm. “Look, we all know where this is leading.”

Daniel sat back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh then please tell me too because I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

Sam hesitated, choosing her words carefully as she saw a storm gathering in his blue eyes. Daniel was a sweet man, but he did have a temper.

“You’re obviously falling for her, which is fine, but don’t rush the process”

“I’m what? Falling for her…for Vala?  Oh please, she’s exactly opposite to everyone      I’ve ever been attracted to.  Look, it’s just that I know what it feels like to not really know where your home is and I’m trying to give her a chance to find one here.”

“With you.” Cam insinuated.

Sam closed her eyes, waiting for the explosion. It didn’t come. What she heard was a strangled  “NO, you said that, I didn’t!” then the rustling of papers.

She opened her eyes to see Daniel gathering up his notes, suppressed anger evident in his every movement. He rose from the table, pausing  to glare at them all.

“Thank you all so much for your insights into MY life, I’m not even going to waste my breath disagreeing any further because you all apparently know my mind better than I do. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a briefing with SG-7.”

They watched him stalk out of the commissary.

“He is so delusional.” Cameron observed.

“Yep.”  Sam agreed

“Indeed.” intoned Teal’c.

 **WEDNESDAY**

An arc of blue electrical light zapped into life for a moment and then subsided.

“Whoa!” both women jumped away from the worktable

“Well that was unexpected.” Sam stepped back to the object to check for damage.

“Ever seen anything like this before?” she glanced at her companion.

“Mmm…something similar once on a planet called Odawa, but I got the impression that it was meant for decoration.” 

Sam’s eyes opened wide “This monstrosity was considered ornamental? Who would think something like this,” she gestured at the cylindrical item that rose two feet above her head, “was an attractive decoration for your home?”

Vala shrugged, “Kinda like some of that stuff in Daniel’s apartment isn’t it?”

Sam gave a snort of laughter. “Point taken.”

“Well, I’m hungry,” Vala announced suddenly, “ are you?”

“Um…no,” Sam peered closer at the base of the item,  “...but you could bring me back an orange juice.”

“Sure.”

Sam was surprised when Vala reappeared a few minutes later with a bottle of orange juice, a local newspaper and nothing else.

“I thought you were hungry?”

“Hmmm?” Vala absently handed the bottle to Sam, her attention still centred on the newspaper.

Sam popped the top of the bottle and took a mouthful. “Whatcha reading?  
Vala looked up from the newspaper. “Oh, I started out just noticing the movie ads…thought I might convince Daniel to go to a movie after dinner and then I saw this.”

She put the paper on the worktable, pointing to what she had been reading.  
’Is this where Daniel and I are going on Friday?”

Sam perused the restaurant review.

“Yep, that’s the place.”

“It’s nothing like O’Malley’s is it?” Vala stared at the page, her brow furrowed.”

 Sam almost laughed out loud at how much like Daniel the facial expression was, but stopped when she realized that she had never seen the lady space pirate looking so unsure.

“No, it’s quite elegant.”

Vala looked up at her again. “Sam, none of the clothes I have would be suitable for this place…all I have are these,” she gestured at the BDUs she wore , “some casual stuff and the leather items I brought with me…and as much as I know Daniel loves my leather corset, I just don’t think he’d be happy if I wore it in those surroundings. Could you take me into town to find something else.”

Sam considered her for a long moment. Up until then she hadn’t been sure how sincere Vala’s feelings were, but this unprecedented concern for Daniel’s approval of her clothing choice was a revelation.

Sam smiled. “Sure, there was some stuff I was going to pick up when I got to Washington, but I can get it here just as well. I’ll get General Landry’s okay to be off base for a couple of hours and meet you at the elevator in 10 minutes.”

 

“So where to?” Vala asked, looking around the wide open atrium of the mall.

“There’s a couple of women’s clothing stores that should have something you’ll like. I’ve bought from both places before and their prices are pretty good. You’ve got the ATM card for the account where your salary is being deposited?”

Vala nodded, smiling a bit. “I have to keep reminding myself to take it with me ‘cuz  I’m just not used to having currency that I can freely use…usually I’d just trade for something or steal it”

Sam grimaced. “Okay let’s not go throwing the ‘stealing’ thing around for everyone to hear…admitting out loud that you steal stuff could end us up in jail, “ she pointed at a store just ahead of them, “We’ll try this one first.”

  

“Oh I like this.” Vala exclaimed, picking up a red sequined mini dress with a plunging neckline.

Sam made a face, “Um, no…that’s as subtle as your leather pieces.”

“How ‘bout this?” Vala held up a shift in gold lamé.

Sam shook her head. “I don’t think you want something that’s gonna remind Daniel of Apophis.

Vala frowned, “No, I suppose not,” she shuffled through the rest of the clothing on the rack, “I’m not seeing anything that I like.”

“Well let’s consider what you normally wear…maybe pants would be a good option,” Sam pushed a few hangers aside, “like this.”

She held up a black jumpsuit.

Vala took it from her. “This feels wonderful…what is it made from?”

“Silk…it’s created by worms.”

Vala stared at her, “You’re kidding right?”

Sam laughed, “Nope.”

Vala shuddered, putting the hanger back on the rack. “Eck, I don’t think I’d be able to get past the worm thing.”

After few more moments of hanger pushing, they both reached the conclusion there was nothing in that store that appealed.

“So we’ll try the other one.” Sam said, leading Vala down the corridor to the other side of the mall.

The stock in the second store seemed less appealing than the first until Vala spied a simple blue top. By the time they settled into a booth at a fast food place 30 minutes later Vala had happily purchased the top, black pants and a small flowered hair comb.

“So you’re pleased with what you found? Sam asked, taking a bite of hamburger.

“Yes, I think so, the top is lovely…it even shows a bit of cleavage, which should make Daniel happy given how much he likes to look at it.”

Sam choked on her soft drink, “And…and…how do you know this?”

“Oh well I’ve caught him of course.”

Sam stared at her. “You have?” her voice came out strangled.

Vala nodded, smothering her french fries in ketchup. “Usually in briefings. If he isn’t concentrating on what’s being said then his eyes have a habit of wandering.”

“And what does he do when he knows he’s been caught?” Sam swallowed hard, she couldn’t believe she was having this conversation.

“When I first started coming here he would give me a dirty look, now he usually flushes slightly before looking away…he’s so cute…reminds me of a little boy stealing cakes…but a couple of weeks ago I choked on my coffee when he caught my eye and winked.”

“I remember that incident.” Sam laughed, “You were coughing so hard we thought you’d have go to the infirmary…funny I recall Daniel getting you water and being quite attentive.”

“Of course he was attentive, he knew it was his fault and he was afraid I was going to give him away.”

“…but you didn’t”

“Oh what fun would there have been in that…if I had he would have been so been thoroughly embarrassed that it would be ages before he’d started playing again and that twinkle in his eyes was so damn sexy I just couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing it again soon.”

Sam looked at Vala over the top of her soft drink cup. “And have you?”

Vala grinned, “Yup, last weekend at that multi-team briefing when Dr. Lee was droning on about something, but this time not only did Daniel wink but he also let his eyes sort of linger…now that threw me for the rest of the day and he knew it too…every time he looked at me the corners of his mouth would turn up and that dimple would flash.”

Sam gave a choking laugh. “Yes, he does take great delight in messing with people’s heads sometimes, but I didn’t think he even acknowledged that…um…physical thing between you.”

“Well he’s not likely to do anything obvious in front of others but sometimes we’ll be working away in his lab quite peacefully and he’ll start doing stuff just to get a reaction out of me.” 

Sam stared at her and then shook her head, “That’s unbelievable.”

 “Oh believe it…” Vala suddenly looked at her watch, “Wow, we should be getting back shouldn’t we?”

“Um yeah,” Sam checked her own watch, “I just need to get a few things at the drugstore and then we’ll head back.”

She followed Vala out of the restaurant, promising herself to keep a closer eye on Daniel’s behaviour when he didn’t think anyone else was watching.

 

**THURSDAY ** 

Samantha pushed open the door of her lab and was greeted with the sight of Daniel rummaging in the drawers of the worktable.

“And good morning to you to Dr. Jackson.” she commented, depositing her mug of coffee on the table surface. “What are you looking for?”

He glanced up absently, “Oh…yeah…morning Sam…do you have extra batteries for the camcorder? I’ve only got one left and I know that won’t be enough.”

“Yeah sure,” without having to search, she produced a couple of lithium batteries from her desk drawer, “but before you take these and go running off I need to talk to you.”

“Now? I got a lot of stuff to organize before we leave.”

“Yes I know, but I really need you to focus for a few minutes on what I have to say.” She   steered him to a stool and made him sit. “Okay, you’re listening to me?”

“Yes, yes...just tell me.”

She took the stool beside him,

“Why did you not tell Vala what sort of place ‘Il Fiore’ is?

He frowned at her. “Uh…it never occurred to me that it mattered.”

She smiled, “Yup, you’re a guy alright.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Just that women need to know what sort of place we’re going to so we wear something that’s appropriate for the surroundings…so we don’t embarrass ourselves or the person we’re with.”

“And this applies to Vala how?”

“Because when she was finished reading the restaurant review yesterday that told her what kind of place ‘Il Fiore’ was, she asked me to take her in town to get something that would be appropriate to wear there…or more accurately something that you would think was appropriate…Daniel, your approval was important to her”

“Oh, and you don’t think maybe it was just to go shopping?”

“I know it wasn’t. Look I know this situation has you going in circles and you’re obviously not willing to hear what any of us think of it, but you need to reassess everything that’s happened since she arrived with that tablet and snapped those bracelets on you…and then decide what that means to you and what you want…not what guilt says you should want or what fear says…but what you want…here.” she placed a gentle hand on the left side of his chest.

He blinked at her a couple of times, his face expressionless and then stood.

“Is that all?”

Unhappy at his lack of response, she nodded.

“Fine, can I have the batteries now please?”

She gave them to him and watched as he went to the door.

“Daniel?”

He stopped halfway out the door, “Sam, I heard what you said, but I need to just leave it at that for the time being, okay?” he replied without looking at her.

He was gone before she could say anything.

 

 **FRIDAY **

** 1400 HRS** 

Colonel Cameron Mitchell lounged against the DHD, legs crossed at the ankles, hands resting on the butt of his P90; relaxed but watchful. At that moment he was watching the straggling members of SG-1 make their way towards him.

“Do ya suppose,” he mused, “If they ever actually do the ‘hokey-pokey’ they’ll stop bickering or will the bickering always be foreplay?”

He glanced over his shoulder at the other two sitting on the steps before the Stargate. Samantha Carter stared at the rock slabs beneath her feet, smirking. Teal’c regarded Mitchell with a frown.

“I do not understand ColonelMitchell, is the ‘hokey-pokey’ not a children’s dancing game?”

“Yes Teal’c it is, but the Colonel is using it as a more delicate way of referring to an adult dance.” Sam piped up.

“Ah”, the large man nodded. “That would be the mating dance.” he paused briefly, “I do not believe that doing the ‘hokey-pokey’ would change anything between DanielJackson and ValaMaldoran.  I knew a couple on Chulak who had a similar relationship.”

Mitchell turned and looked at Teal’c. “And?”

“And they had many children.”

Sam and Cameron both burst out laughing,

“Well Teal’c , I’m not sure Jackson would want to hear that.” he straightened, focusing his attention on the two down the slope from him. “Now what are they doing?…Oh my, that was different.”  
Curious, Sam joined him at the podium. “What?”

“Well, Vala picked something up off the ground, showed it to Daniel, he said something, she smacked him in the arm, he said something else, they exchanged this look...man I  could feel the heat up here, then Daniel laughed and put his arm around her…ever seen him do that before?”

Sam sighed. “He’s like a split personality ya know…when his guard is down it’s as plain as day, but call him on it and he refuses to acknowledge what you’re talking about...he’s going to have to deal with it soon otherwise she’s gonna get fed up with the mixed messages and leave.”

With a shake of her head, she turned to the DHD behind them. “I’m going to start the dialing.”

 “Fine by me, and let’s see if I can get those two to move faster.”

Mitchell stepped to the edge of the platform, cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Yo Jackson! Could you and the missus pick up the pace please, we’d all like to go home?”

The pair, halfway up the slope, stopped at the shout. Daniel scowled up at him, unsure of Cameron’s exact words, Vala flashed a brilliant smile clearly sure of what she heard.

The last chevron was locking into place when Daniel and Vala joined the others on the platform.

Daniel frowned at Mitchell. “What was it you said just now.”

“Not important Jackson, I was just yanking your chain, let’s go home okay, we’ve all got places to go and people to see.”

“And just who are you seeing tonight Colonel Mitchell? Vala sidled up to him, linking her arm with his.

“Cute little redhead who’s just moved into my building.” he answered leading the group up the steps to the shimmering blue vortex, “Thought I’d take her to this dance club that I’ve been wanting to check out.”

“Oh that sounds like fun. Perhaps on Monday we could compare notes to see who had the hotter date.”

Daniel, just behind them, sputtered, “Vala, this won’t be…” the rest of his protestation was lost as he followed them through the event horizon.

On the Earth side of the wormhole the chance for him to complete his sentence was lost to General Landry’s greeting.

“Welcome home SG-1, nice to see you all arriving in one piece with no one shooting at you.”

Mitchell paused on the ramp looking up at the control deck. “Yep, real quiet there, sir…if it stayed uninhabited I’d consider it for a camping trip.”

“Fine then I think we’ll just need a short debrief as soon as Dr. Lam is done with you, I know you all have other places you want to be this evening.”

With a brief wave of acknowledgement they headed out of the ‘gate room.

“So Dr. Jackson?” General Landry spoke again as Daniel was stepping off the ramp. “Was it a worthwhile mission?”

“The ruins there are interesting…the text I managed to uncover seemed to be a mixture of old English and Welsh Gaelic, but I’ll know better when I’ve had a chance to study the copies I made.”

“Excellent…but that won’t be until Monday will it Doctor? This weekend is overdue downtime for this team and I don’t want to come in Monday to hear that Dr. Jackson has been working in his office all weekend…AGAIN.”  

Daniel shifted a little uncomfortably under Landry’s stern gaze. “Ah…understood General.”

“Good! I hope your plans to relax start this evening.”

“Well, that remains to be seen General”

Landry nodded, “Yes, I’m sure it does.” He made a ‘dismiss’ gesture with his hand and turned away.

Daniel made his way out of the ‘gate room, wondering if he had imagined that tiny smirk on the General’s face.

He caught up with the others while they were returning their equipment to the sergeant at the armoury and as Vala was handing something to Sam.  
”Did Daniel know you had this?” Sam raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Well…I showed it to him….

“And I told you it was worthless and to leave it.” he answered coming up behind her.

“Oh I know you did darling, but I just wanted to make sure that you were correct…I mean let’s face while I’m sure your rocks are quite fascinating…”

Out of the corner of his eye Daniel was sure he saw Sam and then Cameron stifle laughter at Vala’s choice of words…he breathed a small word of thanks that she hadn’t yet encountered that particular Earth slang.

“…but they aren’t going to fetch the same amount of money that gemstones can. So I thought if I could find sources of precious stones on other planets they could be used to supplement your government funding that never seems to be enough.” she glanced up at him with sweet smile.

He studied her trying to determine her angle, with a weary sigh he dropped his gaze to the floor for a moment, then he shook his head, and looked up to stare her straight in eye.

“Nice try, but our government and military don’t operate that way and even if they did they’re not likely to entrust you with transactions like that given your…um…history.”

“Oh well you know, I’d happy with a 50/50 deal, but a girl’s gotta look after herself so I couldn’t settle for anything less.” she struggled to remove her flak vest.

He didn’t say anything while he helped with the vest. He handed it and his own to the sergeant, still not saying anything.

He felt her turning to go as he scrawled his initials across the equipment log sheets. He grabbed her elbow to stop her, holding her beside him until he could steer her down the corridor out of earshot of the others. He turned her to face him, hands resting on her shoulders.

“Stop it.” he said softly, “I thought we had moved beyond you feeling the need to create a ‘stash’ someplace.”

She met his eyes defensively, “Things happen Daniel, as much as you want me to believe that I won’t need to fend for myself anymore there’s no guarantee of that.” She turned away from him to follow the others to the infirmary.

 He let her go, sadly he couldn’t argue with that possibility.

 

**1700 hrs** 

He soaped without thought, letting his mind roam free. It settled on the companion thought to his aching muscles; how tired he was. Weary to his soul of the almost daily violence, the relentless struggle to protect his planet, his home, his people and most especially the ones closest to him from invasion and destruction.  The mulling over of his current life took the inevitable leap to what his life might have been had he not met with Catherine.  Best case scenario, tenure at some University, as long as he swallowed his pride and his theories; worst case if he dropped his theories, skilled labour on someone else’s dig but in either case given his tendency to work too much he’d probably be alone; best case if he hadn’t dropped his theories, teaching ESL night school courses, that might have been okay if he had a wife and a family; absolutely worst scenario, alone and in the gutter.

He reached for shampoo. God, he was getting depressed, he needed a change of pace, and a change of scenery.  Suddenly he really wanted to be away from the base for weekend, be in his own place and sleep in his very own bed, alone. Or not.

He stopped in mid-shampoo, lather slid down his face while he analysed that thought. Certainly, given how long it had been since there had been a woman in his bed, it was appealing, but with his current selection he wasn’t sure about pursuing that situation.  He couldn’t deny the temptation though, there had been too many 3 AM fantasies for him to be able to lie to himself, but he didn’t do casual…had done that enough in University… still maybe Sam was right that there was something different happening that he hadn’t noticed before, maybe he did need to reassess the situation.

He let one last blast of cool water cascade over himself before turning off the taps and reaching for a towel. Back at his locker he studied his shaving choices; quick electricity or the almost meditative traditional method. He took his kit and the can of shaving cream to the sinks. He had a funny feeling that he was going to need to be in an almost meditative frame of mind to cope with the coming evening.

He was just pulling on socks when Cameron showed up.

“Hey Jackson, you’re done already?  Man, you must be anxious.”

“No Cameron, I made an early reservation so we wouldn’t be out too late.”

“Ah.” Cam sat down beside him on the bench, leaning toward him for split second before turning to him with a sly grin, “Geez, you even smell purdy…I’ve never known you to wear aftershave.”

Daniel sent him a withering look, “I’m not, it’s just the shaving cream.”

Cameron raised an eyebrow at him, “Wow, took the time to shave by hand…just wanted to do that little extra huh?”

Daniel stood up, taking his t-shirt off the hook in the locker. “No, it just seems to be the only way to get rid of that last layer of grime from being offworld.”

Cameron looked up at him, jokes forgotten, “Ya know you’re right. Can I borrow your can, I’m all out.”

Daniel tossed Cam the can as he closed his locker.

‘Night Cameron, have a nice weekend.”

“Yep, you to Daniel…seriously, I hope you two have a pleasant evening.”

Daniel paused, his hand on the push bar of the door, “Thanks, I hope so too.” 

**1820 hrs**

Daniel stared at the door and took a deep breath. This was ridiculous. He was a grown man having dinner with a coworker; why was he as nervous as he had been with that fourth year teaching assistant in University. Might have something to do with the current coworker affecting him the same way the teaching assistant had. All he had to do was stay away from any alcohol and this evening wouldn’t spin out of control like the one with the TA had.

He rapped at the door. There was no initial response, but as he was about to rap a second time the door opened. His throat went dry. It wasn’t exactly that he had forgotten what a beautiful woman she was, it was just he gotten used to seeing her everyday with her hair in little girl ponytales to keep it out of the way and wearing the same military fatigues that he wore. Tonight the ponytales were gone, replaced by a small flower tucked into her hair on one side. His fingers itched to pull the flower out and feel the heavy silken weight of her hair cascade through his hands. Gone also were the BDUs, replaced with a brilliant blue top and tailored black pants. She was slim, elegant and breathtaking.

“Daniel? Is something wrong?”

He felt her hand on his arm and suddenly realized that he had been staring.

“What?..umm…oh God no…Vala…no you look lovely.”

She gave him a soft smile. “Thank you Daniel, I don’t think you’ve ever said that before.”

He shrugged, “You always seem to be so sure of it yourself that I wouldn’t think it would matter if I said so.”

“It would always matter coming from you. So, “ she gestured at her clothing, “what I am wearing is right for this restaurant?”

“Yes it is. I’m glad that Sam was here to help you figure it out. I apologize for not telling you what kind of restaurant ‘Il Fiore’ is. I didn’t realize that it would matter, but as Sam pointed out to me I’m just a guy.”

She took a step back from him, let her eyes give him a complete once-over then showed him the same soft smile. “And a very handsome guy too.”

He felt his cheeks go slightly warm. “Thank you. And now that we’ve established that we’re mutually satisfied with the other’s appearance we should go.” He glanced at his watch. “Reservation is for 7 and we’ve a 20 minute drive into town.”

  

**1853 hrs**

 Daniel swung the car into a parking space and cut the ignition.

“Ready?” he favoured her with the slow, warm smile that made her pulse race.

‘Absolutely! I am starving, now you promise the food here will be more interesting than what’s served at the base!”

He laughed. “Yes, I promise.”

“Good, then let’s eat.” she reached for the door handle, but stopped when she felt his hand on her arm.

“Vala, I’ll get the door.”

She relaxed back into her seat, feeling a little awkward. She wasn’t sure when she first noticed that he automatically did things like opening doors for her, and while it made her a little impatient sometimes because she was accustomed to managing on her own, the gesture also made her feel valued and she wasn’t going to object to anything he did to make her feel that way.

The door opened, she swung her feet to the pavement and stood, finding herself close enough to Daniel to feel his warmth. In her home town she had been considered tall, but he was still taller than her and she, long ago, had noticed that when he finally put his arms around her and held her she would be able to lay her head at his shoulder and plant a trail of kisses down his throat; she wondered if that would make him groan with pleasure.  That enchanting thought was still in her mind when she looked up at him. Daniel’s breath caught in his chest at the obvious desire in her blue-grey eyes and he realized that she would end up in his bed unless he made a conscious effort to keep that from happening. Unlike the unconscious effort it took to rest his hand at the small of her back, guiding her across the parking lot and into the restaurant.  

**1900 hrs**

“Good evening sir, madame. Reservations?” the maître d' greeted them with a smile.

“Good evening. Yes, two for Jackson.”

The man in the dark suit scanned the monitor screen in front of him. “Yes, right this way sir.”

Vala glanced around at the space they were in as the man showed them to their table. She hadn’t known exactly what to expect but she was a little surprised at the obviously intimate surroundings. Daniel had been adamant that he didn’t consider this a date, but given the impression Vala had from watching TV these surroundings would definitely be considered romantic. A funny knot formed in her stomach…was she about to be offered what she had come to Earth seeking…was she prepared to give him the commitment she knew he would be asking…she swallowed nervously as she sat down on the chair the maître d' held for her. 

**1916  hrs**

”Your friend has taken ill.” the waiter placed the martini and the bottled water on the table.

Daniel looked up from the menu, concern etching his brow. ”What? Where is she?"

“Um… she was escorted outside by another gentleman.”

Daniel was up and rushing for the door before the waiter had barely finished speaking. Heart pounding, he took the steps up to the door two at a time, emerging from the restaurant to find no trace of Vala or the person she had gone with. There was nothing…no voices, no cars...nothing. He took the few steps down to the parking lot, still looking for anything that would show that she had been there. A faint blur of white against the dark pavement caught his eye. He stooped, fingers closing around the small white flower that he had wanted to pull from her hair earlier.  He straightened, feeling a ripple of heart-twisting pain sweep through him. This time he couldn’t blame it on the bracelets.


End file.
